September 2000, Volume 1, Issue 1

Extension Forestry continues to conduct Forest Stewardship workshops for non-industrial forest landowners, assisting them in understanding and assessing the values of their forestlands, and helping them achieve management goals. A workshop is scheduled this fall in San Bernardino for private landowners, group camp managers, and Indian tribes. In 1999 we conducted seven forest stewardship workshops extending from Shasta to Santa Cruz counties. This year we also conducted workshops on road design and maintenance for landowners in the Sierra Nevada and Trinity County and more of these are planned for next year.

Richard Harris and Gary Nakamura are conducting a study of the status of large woody debris (LWD) in north coast streams with a focus on ecological and geomorphic functions of wood and recruitment mechanisms. The study is funded by the California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) through the Center for Forestry. Other collaborators include Greg Giusti, Nat. Res. Advisor, Mendocino county, and Neil Lassettre, Ph.D. student in Environmental Planning.

Harris has completed assessments of county regulations and practices for protecting anadromous salmonids in ten counties affected by Endangered Species listings. Findings are being used by the Counties to developed improved inventory, training, and management practices. Currently, he is involved with preparing a watershed analysis and restoration plan for the Pescadero watershed in San Mateo county, identified as important anadromous fish habitat.

Harris has also been working with the Tahoe Basin Forest Health Consensus Group to develop descriptions of desired future conditions for forests in the Tahoe Basin - in urban areas, the urban interface, and the general forest. In May 2000, Harris led a field trip for the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals to see and discuss the conditions in the urban and urban interface areas and some of the activities being conducted to reduce fuels and fire hazard (see photo this page).

Nakamura, ESPM Ph.D. candidate Cajun James, and Prof. Joe McBride conducted a field workshop on Canopy Cover Measurement for federal and state agencies. Instruction was provided in the use of the sighting tube, spherical densiometer, Solar Pathfinder, aerial photography, and Dynamax hemispherical photography and computer analysis.

The terms "adaptive management" and "sustainable forestry" are used in many contexts. Nakamura is working with the public and interest groups to better understand these issues and the maintenance of healthy ecosystems. He assisted the Shasta-Tehama Bioregional Council in Redding conduct a field trip to the Megram Fire in Humboldt and Trinity counties to evaluate the effect of fuels treatment on wildfire behavior. Dramatic examples were seen where crown fires dropped to the ground where fuels had been treated in defensible fuel profile zones (DFPZ).

ABOVE: STBC field trip to Megram Fire. The green-canopied trees were in a DFPZ while the burned trees were not.

This is the eighth year of the Forestry Institute for Teachers (FIT), sponsored by the Northern California Society of American Foresters. The week-long sessions for K-12 teachers from throughout California are conducted at Camp Latieze near Mt Lassen, Humboldt State University (HSU), and UC Forestry Camp, Meadow Valley. Nakamura co-directs Camp Latieze, Kim Rodrigues, ANR North Coast and Mountain Region Director, co-directs the HSU session, and Mike DeLasaux, NR Advisor for Plumas-Sierra counties, co-directs the Meadow Valley session. Since 1993, 650 teachers have graduated from FIT.